Hispanic Heritage Month Events
Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15, recognizes the culture, heritage and overall contributions that Latinos and Hispanics have made to the United States.
Un Recuerdo Brutal: A History of Violence in Texas
What: Panel with Monica Muñoz Martinez, associate professor of history; and Doug Swanson, research assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh. The discussion will be moderated by Leonard Moore , vice president of diversity and community engagement and George W. Littlefield Professor of American History.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 4 p.m.
Where: Zoom registration at bit.ly/unrecuerdobrutal
Monica Muñoz Martinez is associate professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin. Born and raised in Texas, Martinez received her Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University. She is the author of the award-winning book, “The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas,” and the primary investigator for “Mapping Violence: Racial Terror in Texas 1900-1930,” a digital research project that recovers histories of racial violence in Texas. In 2017 Martinez was selected for the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program. The fellowship provides grants for the “country’s most creative thinkers” to support research on “challenges to democracy and international order.” Martinez is also a leading public voice. She is a founding member of Refusing to Forget a nonprofit organization that calls for a public reckoning with racial violence in Texas. She helped develop an award-winning exhibit for the Bullock Texas State History Museum that marked the first time a cultural institution acknowledged state responsibility for a period of racial terror in the 20th century. Martinez collaborated with the Texas Historical Commission to secure four state historical markers along the US-Mexico border. She has also worked as a historical consultant for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Her research has been featured by media outlets including the New York Times, CNN, NBC, NPR, Texas Monthly, Austin American-Statesman and the Associated Press.
Doug Swanson graduated from UT Austin with a B.A. in English, and he was a professional-in-residence at the Moody College of Communication in 2015-2016. He was, for many years, an investigative reporter and editor at the Dallas Morning News. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing and was a John S. Knight Fellow in Journalism at Stanford University. “Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers” is his seventh book. Since 2016 he has taught writing at the University of Pittsburgh, where he is a research assistant professor.
“Porvenir, Texas” Film Access & Virtual Panel Discussion
What: Cohosted by Latino Studies and DDCE, this free 8-day access to the film “Porvenir, Texas,” will be followed by a panel discussion with UT Austin scholars Emilio Zamora, professor of history; and Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center for American History. Arlinda Valencia, a descendent of Porvenir victims, will also participate in the discussion, moderated by John Morán González, director of the Center for Mexican American Studies.
When: Wednesday, Oct 14, 5 p.m. (movie available in advance)
Where: Zoom registration at bit.ly/porvenirtx
About the Film (synapsis taken from the film’s website)
In the early morning hours of January 28th, 1918, the town known as Porvenir, Texas, ceased to exist. A group of fifteen fathers, uncles, brothers and sons were taken from their homes and executed in front of their daughters, mothers and sisters. The perpetrators then burned the town to the ground forcing the remaining residents, made up of mostly women and children, to flee.
Who were the killers? Why did they carry out such a horrific act?
Through interviews with historians and descendants, site excavations and dramatizations, Porvenir, Texas explores this tragic story, revisits what led to the events of that fateful night, and reveals tensions that remain a century later. Descendants of both victims and killers recount the stories passed down within their own families, while outsiders were completely unaware that this crucial piece of American history exists. Their anecdotal evidence points to the possible reasons why the village of Porvenir was targeted, exploring this tragedy on a personal level and understanding how it is relevant in today’s climate.